Review & Author Interview ~ Gossip by Clara Grace Walker.

Gossip is tabloid publisher Nicholas Beck’s business and he makes no apologies for it. When his wife is murdered, however, he finds his publishing rival Peter Arnold slinging the mud and rumors in his direction, and the police hounding his every move. Needing to clear his name and determined to unmask his wife’s true killer, Nick goes to work tracking down the real story behind her death. As he uses his investigative skills to discover who killed his wife, he learns she was hiding dark secrets, and soon finds himself embroiled in a sleazy world of revenge, deception and blackmail.

With leads running out, his rival printing headlines casting blame at him and his heart broken from a failing marriage that ended in murder, can Nick clear his name and break open the story? And will easing his pain with beautiful photographer Jamie Jennings turn out to be his biggest mistake? Or the cure for everything wrong in his life?

Review:

Gossip was a whodunit written brilliantly. Twist after twist made for a really interesting story and I was really impressed with how everything that was unveiled linked together and no clue went forgotten.

We’re thrown right into the action at the beginning of the book and I loved that. I was instantly drawn into the story and eager to follow the investigation and find out who had been responsible for Janelle’s murder.

At the beginning, Gossip did seem to switch POVs a lot, with more characters than I felt were needed so soon. But once the plot developed and it became more complex, I understood why there was a need to introduce a lot of characters and I soon lost any confusion.

The characters were also written extremely well by Clara Grace Walker, each with their own well developed story. I loved Nick, his intelligence, dedication and obvious feelings for Jamie made him an endearing and intriguing character – not the typical perfect hero but one I was definitely rooting for just as much. Out of the side characters, my favourite was Danny – his understated wit and his conversing with Sarge really added some light relief to the story.

A suspenseful plot with lots of twists and a great ending, Gossip was full-on entertainment and a fantastic read. A whole host of interesting character really made this book stand out from a lot of other whodunits I have read and I really recommend this book.

Author of Amazon’s Best-selling novel, Gratification, Clara Grace Walker grew up knowing she wanted to write. She is thrilled with the release of her second novel, Gossip, Book #2 in the Desire Never Dies trilogy. Peeking inside the deepest, darkest secrets of the rich and powerful, Clara takes her readers on a ride filled with sensuality, intrigue and strong characters, only some of whom possess a moral compass.

When not bringing to life her stories of greed, desire and danger, Clara enjoys spending time at the pool. She calls it her “summer office.” She also enjoys scrapbooking, travel and above all, her wonderful family, including her husband, children and two very spoiled cats.

Currently, Clara is working on Redemption, Book 3 of the Desire Never Dies trilogy. She hopes to bring many happy days of reading to her fans in the future.

Author Interview:

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your life and your books: I’m fortunate to be living out my dream of writing and publishing books. My debut effort, the Desire Never Dies trilogy is made up of 3 mainstream romantic suspense novels: Gratification, Gossip and Redemption.

What was your inspiration behind writing Gossip?Gossip is the second book in the Desire Never Dies trilogy. I was intrigued with the character of Nicholas Beck, the tabloid publisher, when I first introduced him in Gratification, and I wanted to explore his character more in my next book. Thus, Nick became my hero for Gossip. As the middle book in the trilogy, Gossip picks up some of the threads of the previous story, showing the consequences of some of the characters’ decisions in Gratification, while setting the stage for the third and final book of the series, Redemption.

Out of the characters you’ve written in your books, which one are you most similar to and which one do you think you’d get along with the best? I am very similar to Nick, in that we are both stubborn, sometimes impatient, and in love with the written word. Maggie, my heroine from Gratification, shares my love of children and romantic side, while Mindy, from Redemption, shares my love of music and animals. I’d get on with Nick the best, probably, though also with most of the other characters. Just not the bad guys. :)

Do you have a routine or any rituals when you’re writing? IE a certain place you work or music you listen to?My routine is to relax as much as possible before I write, which is why my favorite place to write is poolside or beachside. I also do all of my drafting and revising in longhand, which makes my other writer friends giggle. :)

Which one book that you have read would you love to written yourself, and why? Definitely A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway is probably my favorite writer ever. If I could move people with my prose the way his prose moves me, I would feel truly accomplished.

Name five books at the top of your TBR pile this year: Um…I have about 20 loaded onto my Kindle right now, waiting to be red. I generally try to read them in order of downloading, so the next 5 on the list would be: Shattered by Jennie Marsland; A Spectator’s War by Mick Mears; Four Play by Cindy Blackburn; Fade Route by David Chill and A Jane Austen Daydream by Scott D. Southard.

Do you prefer ebooks or print books? I used to be staunchly print books. Then I got a Kindle. The joy of being able to take 50 books with me on vacation cannot be overstated. In the space of a few weeks I went from staunchly print to staunchly ebook. Go figure. :)

Is there anything you’ve learnt since writing and self-publishing your books that you wish you’d known before you started? How to be more technologically inclined. I still wish that. :)

Anything you’d like to add? I love hearing from and connecting with my readers! Please feel free to contact me via my website: www.claragracewalker.com. There you can find links to all of my social media sites, my books and a News/Events page where you can read past interview and find information on upcoming books, etc.